National Smokefree Gaming Symposium

On May 9-11, ANRF co-hosted the first ever National Smokefree Gaming Symposium
in Las Vegas, Nevada at a smokefree venue. Sixty participants, including researchers,
health advocates, casino workers, tribal partners, and legal professionals,
combined forces to share new data, hear workers' stories, and discuss legal
and legislative strategies to support to make all casinos 100% smokefree.

The goal of the Symposium was not only to raise awareness and share research
about the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure in casinos, but to truly strengthen
the movement and solidify our strategies making all casinos 100% smokefree.

Highlights from the Symposium:

In collaboration with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, ANRF released
"Fighting for Air: Secondhand Smoke
in Casinos," an eight-minute documentary which features
current and former casino workers affected by secondhand smoke exposure.
Watch for a link to the documentary on our website at www.smokefreecasinos.org.
We expect to release a longer version of the documentary later this
year.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly attended the Symposium in person
with First Lady Martha Shelley, to accept an award and standing ovation
for signing an Executive Order making all workplaces, including casinos,
on the Navajo Nation lands 100% commercial tobacco-free in an effort
to protect all workers at Navajo Nation from secondhand smoke. Although
his Executive Order did not take effect due to a procedural challenge,
President Shelley made it clear that he is committed to supporting legislation
this session to make sure that all workers are protected.

Honorable
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly speaks to Symposium participants about
his commitment to a 100% commercial tobacco-free policy for Navajo Nation.

New research was presented, including
research examining secondhand smoke levels in 66 smoky casinos in five
states and 3 casinos that are smokefree. James Repace of Tufts University
presented these findings, which provide conclusive evidence that casino
workers face extremely dangerous risks as a condition of their employment.

A panel of casino workers shared
personal stories of suffering and said they would no longer sit silently
by while forced to work in unsafe conditions. Legal experts also presented
potential options for workers ready to fight back.

The first ever Smokefree Gaming Symposium was a resounding success and the
response was even better than we expected. Much like in the early years of fighting
for smokefree restaurants, the same stale arguments are thrown at us from the
opposition. Fortunately, the smokefree gaming movement has strong science and
solid public support behind it and both are growing quickly. It's no longer
a question of if casinos will be smokefree, but a question of
when.

Thanks to everyone who attended the conference; we look forward to a productive
year working together toward our goal of 100% smokefree casinos!

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